A Coat of Gold or Coat of Red
by SansaBolton
Summary: Some AU. Different outcomes. Robert Baratheon summons his youngest siblings to court. Renly and Katherine Baratheon must try to confine their lifestyles to fit the stingent rules of Kings Landing while keeping their secrets in check. Some things they didn't count on: Renly declaring himself as king when Robert dies, and Jaime Lannister becoming an unwitting hero in their story.
1. Chapter 1

Highgarden was in bloom all year round. The warm sun tickled the blossoms of thousands of flowers and lovely plants all through the gardens and fields of The Reach. The temperature was always mild, the water tasted wonderful, and there was a pleasant smell in the air. The people lived a happier existence because there were less troubles.

This was what brought Katherine Baratheon to The Reach for most of the year. She truly appreciated the company that being at Highgarden brought her. Margaery Tyrell was great company to keep and her grandmother, even better. Katherine and Margaery had very similar personalities and the exact same view on people at court, so they got along famously.

Another similarity was the close relationship their brothers had.

Loras Tyrell and Renly Baratheon certainly spent a lot of time together. When the girls were a bit younger they thought nothing of it, but as they became more mature, it became quite apparent to them that they boys were more than friends. No matter though, in Highgarden social rules weren't quite as stringent. Olenna Tyrell surely didn't say anything, though they were all certain she knew.

These were among the many reasons Katherine and her brother Renly found themselves spending more time in Highgarden than they ever did at their house seat at Storms End. Renly wasn't quite the most responsible lord in the Storm Lands, but he was young and charismatic so no one ever seemed to mind when he left his seat to be ruled over by the castellan Ser Cortnay Penrose.

Renly was a young man in his early 20s and lived a very carefree life after being named the lord of the Storm Lands. His sister Katherine, now 16, had been born at Storms End during Robert's Rebellion. Their mother died in childbirth while the keep was laid siege to, and their father had been killed by the Mad King earlier in the year. When the Rebellion was over and Robert marched his troops, victoriously, from Storms End to the Red Keep he did so with his youngest sibling in tow

The Baratheon brothers had been joined by a sister. Renly was a child of 5 himself at the time, Robert was a young man in his 20s, and Stannis was already nearly 30. While Stannis was sent to Dragonstone to hold that ancient seat of the Targaryens, Storms End was promised for Renly when he was old enough.

This left the child, Katherine, to be raised in King's Landing by Robert. He always had a soft spot for the girl, even as a drunken bastard in the later years. In fact, he cared even more for her as the years went on. She was tough in comparison to Renly. Robert saw his younger brother bested by their sister many times at the archery range.

But the children were close, and this meant that when Renly was old enough to be sent back to Storms End, Robert sent the girl with him.

Now, almost 7 years later, Renly and Katherine Baratheon were quite pleased to not have to be present at court. They enjoyed their time in The Reach with their close friends the Tyrells, and even managed to pass the time during the few months of the year that they were required present at Storms End.

This leisurely lifestyle suited the two siblings, and they had no intention of changing it.

That unfortunately was about to come to an end. Robert had a different plan for his siblings.

While his older more serious brother brooded angrily at Dragonstone, and his younger, carefree siblings enjoyed their time between Highgarden and Storms End, Robert grew angry at Kings Landing.

He was more than fed up with his life at this point. The rebellion and war seemed so far away. 16 years had been a lifetime ago. He had been at his prime, his best form. He was feared by all men and desired by all women. Now he spent his days drinking and whoring in the capital, though it didn't quite satiate him.

Every day he had to return to his Lannister wife, and be surrounded by all of her Lannister siblings and cousins. Even his wretched good-father Tywin was ever present at court. Had he known what his life would be nearly 2 decades later Robert surely wouldn't have married the young beautiful Cersei all those years ago.

Robert missed the days of excitement and laughter when he and Eddard Stark had first gone to war. He missed his eldest brother's support and encouragement. He missed seeing his youngest brother's pride and naïve hero-worship. He even missed his sweet sister's laughter filling his throne room as she ran through the halls.

He gulped at his goblet for more wine. Sitting in on another small council meeting listening to total nonsense he finally made his mind up. Interrupting Petyr Baelish the king finally spoke, to everyone's surprise. The king was usually more likely to be asleep at the meetings or not present at all, than to actually speak.

Naturally when he spoke it had absolutely nothing to do with what the council was discussing. Once he was sure they were all listening he barked out his order simply.

"One of you useless leeches send for Renly and Katie. I'll have them at court now."

It was Lord Varys the eunuch who spoke. "Certainly your grace… how long shall your siblings be joining us at court?" Robert snorted, "as long as I want them. They should be here before the new moon. I'm tired of looking at all this blonde hair."

Varys nodded, "certainly your grace, I'll have the message sent out to The Reach today." Robert nodded. As his councilors continued discussing how to rule his kingdom he continued brooding in his own thoughts.

 _At least I'll have some reasonable people here soon. If I can make it another month I'll finally have some peace and happiness in this godsforsaken place._


	2. Chapter 2

Less than a moon later Katherine found herself riding into Kings Landing. She already felt lightheaded thinking about living in the Red Keep for the next…however long. As she and Renly and the rest of their party rode through the inner roads inside the Keep, towards the Great Hall she considered all the changes that were coming.

Surely she wouldn't be allowed to ride horseback in her gowns here. If she was with any Lord other than Renly she would've been forced into a carriage. She could sense the knights watching her ride in, and she realized this was not often seen here. She didn't care. Robert wouldn't either.

As soon as they reached the gates to where they would walk in she turned to Renly, "what is expected?" Renly sighed. Only to Katherine was he an authority figure, he forgot she wouldn't remember court as well as he did.

"I would think that Robert will receive us at the feast tonight. I will certainly take a rest and warm bath before then, and I'm certain you would like to do the same. I'll send a letter that we have arrived and will be present at the feast. I'll escort you down." Katherine nodded.

They were shown to their attractive chambers near the King's family's own chambers, though luckily not too close. Next door to one another, the younger set of Baratheon siblings entered their separate chambers to rest after such a long ride.

Katherine enjoyed a warm bath and found that her handmaiden Lora had set out one of her exquisite Southern style gowns out. Light blue and with gold ornaments and a deep exposed back, this was certainly not something commonly seen at Kings Landing.

Katherine smiled, this would be lovely. She didn't care for the Queen very much and she was sure to see Cersei in her finest gowns over the next several months. The Queen was always one to try to upstage.. so why not. With that decided Katherine dressed for the feast.

Right on time Renly arrived at her chamber door. He was dressed in an attractive green and gold doublet that showed him off nicely. She was sure Robert would appreciate the finery. He liked people to know the Lannisters were no better off than his own family.

Offering his sister his arm, Renly strolled them down to the Great Hall for the feast.

When they entered the hall there was loud music, smells of fine foods, and quite a lot of court members already there. Robert was drinking and carrying on loudly to a knight up at the King's table.

Once he caught sight of his siblings he called out loudly "Finally! My brother arrives! Better late than never, eh?!" As the fools around him laughed Katherine refrained from rolling her eyes deeply into her head. False friends, all of them.

As they approached the King at his table they paused before stepping up to greet their king brother. Kneeling before him and saying the usual words of fealty as greeting they felt Robert's large presence in front of them. Raising them up, Robert took in his younger brother.

Renly had aged very well under the Southern sun. He was attractive and fit. Dressed well and well spoken, Robert decided he reminded him of himself, though this was quite obviously no longer true.

Clapping his arm around his brother's back he greeted him familiarly. "RENLY! How I've missed you here. Finally a bit of fun at court. We shall hunt often and drink even more!" With a great laugh Robert turned to the woman on his brother's arm.

As he took in the beauty holding onto Renly his first thought was that Renly had finally found a lovely woman to share his time with. Before considering taking her for himself Robert saw through his misty eyes to notice the striking similarities between his brother and the young woman.

 _It couldn't be…_ But it was. His child sister had grown into a great beauty in the South. Long dark hair in smooth waves around her face and trailing halfway down her back, she didn't look anything like the other women at court.

Her gently sun kissed skin was lightly bronzed, complimenting her dark hair and light eyes. Baratheon features through and through. Taking in her blue eyes that were so similar to what his mother's were, he finally spoke.

"By the Seven… My girl, you have grown!" Katherine's lips broke easily into a great smile, encouraging Robert's outburst further. "Yes! A beauty like our mother, a true beauty! Renly you've done well!"

Renly's eyebrows raised in bewilderment as to what possible effect he could have had on his sister's appearance but seeing as Robert didn't seem to be stopping for interjections he allowed him to continue.

Katherine ate up her brother's attention. Renly had instructed her to do so. He had clearly told her how many enemies they would have at court and that having their brother's total favor would be vital to a successful life in Kings Landing.

Doing her part Katherine spoke with Renly's words in mind, "Your Grace I am so humbled by your words, but it is to you I owe everything! You have so graciously provided for me all these years and I have not had the opportunity to show you my gratitude!"

She could see she had spoken rightly because Robert's face broke into a great smile again as he cheered. "Pretty words for my pretty sister! Come, come see my family. Then we will eat!"

As Robert dragged her up to the King's table she scanned it quickly. She knew almost no one there. _Excellent…_ The King announced their presence loudly. "My brother Renly the Lord of Storms End, and my sister, Katherine the Princess Royale of the realm!

Katherine smiled deeply. Hearing her brother say the title she used so infrequently was a bit unexpected. While she was allowed this title as the sister of the King, his brothers were lords of their own lands so they were styled as lords.

The Queen was their first stop and Robert quickly reintroduced his siblings. The King chatted away to his brother as the Queen offered Katherine a thinly veiled smile over a cup of wine.

With that gesture Katherine easily surmised what she had assumed about the Queen was true. While the Tyrells weren't truly fake as the people at court were, they knew how to play the game, and they also knew how to spot a person playing it. Olenna had explained this all to Margaery and Katherine as young girls and reinforced it to Katherine before she left for court.

Smiling warmly at the Queen Katherine curtsied, "your grace you are as lovely as they said you were!" The Queen laughed, "oh little stag you are a sight yourself. You will do well here, be careful you don't do too well. Wouldn't want the little birdies to sing…"

As she trailed off Katherine recognized the threat. Cersei was clearly letting her know that her actions would be reported on at court. But she expected as much. She wasn't sure why the Queen would be so interested in her life but that was no bother.. Katherine didn't engage in any sordid behaviors that she would have to account for anyways.

Giving Cersei a smile that didn't quite meet her eyes Katherine followed her brothers down the table to stand in front of the children. The three children in front of her were all true Lannisters, Katherine observed.

They all had golden blonde hair and the young boy was laughing merrily as his father mussed his hair and his uncle leaned down to speak to him. The next oldest, a lovely girl with golden girls was smiling warmly at her brother. The eldest, a boy with thin blonde hair and small unkind eyes sneered at his younger siblings, with clear annoyance.

Katherine was introduced to them all, and noticed with disdain how the eldest boy, Joffrey was looking at her interestedly. Something his mother seemed to notice and seemed to be angry about.

The King introduced his siblings to his council members who were present. Lord Tywin had not returned from his trip back to the Rock so he wasn't there, but Lord Varys and Lord Baelish were.

Katherine decided that of the two she preferred the eunuch. Baelish was seedy and spoke too confidently for a man who came from nothing and dined with a king now.

Finally Robert came to the knights he had been speaking to earlier. He reintroduced Renly to Ser Barristan Selmy, the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, who was a good honest man.

Then the King paused for a moment in front of the knight next to Ser Barristan, he gestured with his hand rather sharply. "This is my wife's twin Ser Jaime. Kingsguard."  
Jaime barely had time to throw a bored glance their way before the King had moved on.

Curiously, Katherine glanced back. She wondered why her brother seemed so unhappy with the Queen's brother. Renly noticed her glance and tugged her forward.

The evening went splendidly, with feasting and dancing. It would have only been improved on had Loras and Margaery joined them in the capital but that wouldn't be for another moon or two.

Katherine spent most of the evening observing the members of court while she ate and drank, listening somewhat to her brothers' conversations. She wasn't quite paying attention until she noticed the knight staring intently at her from across the room. Ser Jaime Lannister, the Queen's twin was unabashedly watching her and Katherine suddenly found herself blushing.

Unable to stand holding his gaze she glanced down and then after a moment stole another glance up at him. Still leaning against the wall, he still watched her. As he saw her steal a glimpse at him he grinned widely and winked at her.

Now sure she was reddening Katherine tried to distract herself by drinking from her goblet of wine, but that only made her redder.

By the time the evening was up Katherine was glad to return to her chambers. As she and Renly left the feast she suddenly looked around for the handsome brother of the Queen, and when she didn't see him she felt herself frown with slight disappointment.

What she didn't see what Jaime Lannister watch that whole thing, and smile deeply at it.


	3. Chapter 3

For the next two years Renly and Katherine settled into life at Kings Landing. Though it wasn't what they were used to, the found ways to entertain themselves there. Robert was always hosting jousts and feasts so there seemed to be always a celebration for something.

One day after Margaery and Loras Tyrell had finally arrived from Highgarden, the girls found themselves in Katherine's chambers discussing the upcoming feast. There would be a full day of jousting ahead of it, and then a great feast to top it off.

Margaery was quite smitten with Ser Bryant Rosby at the moment so she was keen on him doing well during the jousts. "I tell you he's not just well spoken for a knight, the things that man can do with his tongue…"  
Katherine wrinkled her nose, "Margaery! How vile! I certainly don't need to know that." Margaery laughed lightly, "Oh Katie you only say that because you've never had a man put his tongue in your mouth before!"

Katherine smirked, "that's not true! Loras kissed me when I was 10!" With this Margaery let out a huge laugh "and now his tongue is in Renly's mouth every night!" The girls laughed for quite a while on this topic before it was time to get ready.

Katherine decided to wear a clingy red silk dress with gold trim and the signature deep cut back.. those were all the rage in Highgarden. Seeing as it was such a warm day she thought it was quite appropriate. Margaery did as well, so she wore a similar gown in purple with silver trim.

As the girls walked arm in arm down to the arena they passed several knights. Margaery excitedly pointed over to Ser Bryant Rosby at his stand, and Katherine waved her on.

Absent-mindedly watching her friend converse with her knight, Katherine didn't notice a certain knight approaching her. In fact, Katherine didn't notice Ser Jaime until he was practically directly in front of her.

With a bow and a smirk Jaime addressed her. "Hello my Princess. You look stunning today if I do say so myself." Having never actually spoken to him Katherine was quite nervous. She had heard quite a lot about him and not all of it was good so she was very guarded.

"Ser Jaime, I wish you the best of luck today. Ride safely."

Jaime's smirk grew as she said his name. "My Princess, I see you are dressed splendidly in my house colors. Is there someone you are here supporting today or may I be so bold as to ask you to wear your favor?"

Katherine felt her eyes grow wide. She had not been expecting this. As she slowly began to process what he said she saw his eyes flicker to the red and golden ribbon she wore round her neck. It was something silly Margaery had given her a long time ago, but it was all the rage now for ladies to wear things like this round their necks, so she indulged herself.

Since she had not yet spoken Jaime continued, "if there is some other lucky knight who has asked for your favor I apologize, I should have known better than to wait so long.." Now Katherine remembered her manners quite suddenly. "No my lord! I had not given anyone my favor and I would be glad to have you wear it. May it bring you luck on the field today."

Quite smoothly Jaime closed the distance between them and put his arms around her neck to slide the ribbon off. As he did so, Katherine felt his fingers brush against her neck, only for a moment, but she felt a sudden heat course through her at the touch.

"Thank you my Princess. This is all the luck I need. I shall see you at the feast tonight? Maybe if I do well you will grant me a dance… or two." Without waiting for an answer Jaime gave her a small wink and strode off just in time for Margaery to reappear.

"Do you mind telling me what I just missed?" Katherine followed Jaime with her eyes until he had disappeared back into the throngs of people. "KATE!" Finally Margaery got her attention. "What did I miss?" Katherine blushed violently, "nothing!"

Margaery grabbed her friend's arm and began to stroll towards the stands once more. "You mean to tell me that Jaime Lannister came up to you and began talking to you at length, alone, and you discussed nothing?" Katherine rolled her eyes, "well I suppose it wasn't nothing. He was asking me about my dress and we discussed the tournament."

Margaery looked skeptical. "That was all?" Katherine steered her towards their front row seats near Renly, "yes! Gods you act as if we had time to plot a secret engagement or something of the sort!" The girls laughed as they took their seats.

The laughter didn't last long as the knights rode out to be introduced. Once Margaery got a glimpse of Ser Jaime she jabbed Katherine in the side. "Oh, yes. He did ask for my favor. That as well."

Margaery was shocked, "you didn't think to mention this small detail! Maybe you are running off with him and not telling a soul!" Katherine laughed, "I've only just really spoken to him for the first time today, but if we do decide to run off you will be the first to know!"

For the rest of the afternoon the ladies enjoyed the tournament. The final round saw Ser Jaime finally being unseated by Loras, in a stunning finale. Everyone was on their feet clapping for the display of showmanship they had witnessed. Even Ser Jaime shook Loras' hand quite vigorously afterwards.

As a final twist to the afternoon, Loras made a great show of naming Katherine as his Queen of Love and Beauty, the whole while winking at her brother as he walked over to them for the crowning.

When the tourney was over the guests all made their way back to the Great Hall, starving and ready for some dancing. Though Katherine enjoyed the revelry through the evening she eventually grew tired of the loud music and commotion so she retreated out to the terrace overlooking Blackwater Bay.

With only a minstrel playing on his lute and a few lovers whispering to each other, seated at their benches, the terrace was nearly empty in comparison to the hall. Katherine wandered to the far end of the terrace and closed her eyes for a moment as the sea air washed over her face.

Breathing in the breezy air on this clear night she finally felt at peace. She certainly didn't expect to be joined but oddly the person who had placed themselves directly next to her didn't disturb the princess's solitude as much as she would have expected.

A few more deep breaths in and silence. Finally the person spoke. "I didn't realize how much you liked the sea air.." The unexpectedly soft and kind sounding voice belonged to Jaime Lannister.

Katherine opened her eyes and met his gaze. "Ser Jaime. Is there something you needed? Does my brother seek my company?" Jaime gave her a small smile, "no he seems otherwise engaged…" Trailing off meant that Robert had found his way to a whore already. Katherine raised an eyebrow for a moment but let it drop. She expected this by now.

"What can I do for you then?" Jaime studied her for a moment before he spoke, "am I disturbing you?" The princess answered "no, not really."

After a few moments of silence Jaime spoke again. "The sea breeze like this reminds me of Casterly Rock. I loved waking up to the smell of the fresh air and mist of the sea. It was peaceful." Katherine smiled, "that sounds lovely, I would like to see that."

"And perhaps someday you shall."

Since the Princess had not said anything else Jaime boldly asked another question. "I see you were rightly crowned the Queen of Love and Beauty today." Katherine nodded, "yes I was. Though your sister should have had this honor." Jamie winced, "no her beauty is cruel and unkind. Yours is warm and inviting. You were rightly crowned."

He continued, "is it within my right to ask if there is a reason Loras Tyrell crowned you his Queen? Perhaps he and you are more than friends?" Jaime tried to sound uninterested but he cursed himself as he said it because he could hear the interest in his own voice.

Katherine tried to hide her smile, "No my Lord, I assure you Ser Loras and I are more like siblings than anything else. He is a brother to me, truly."

Jaime smiled, "That is good to hear."

Before she could ask why he said that, Katherine noticed her ribbon clutched in his hand and she gestured towards it, "I am sorry my favor didn't bring you luck today. Perhaps I am unlucky then." Jaime held it a bit tighter with her words. "No I think the opposite, for before I had this I had only spoken a few words to you and since then I've found myself alone in your company twice."

Blushing deeply Katherine looked down, unsure what to say. She wasn't used to this sort of attention and she didn't know how to respond to it. Very wary of his intentions Katherine finally spoke.

"And why is it you would consider yourself lucky to be in my company, my Lord?"

"Because you are without a doubt the loveliest, sweetest, woman I've ever encountered." Jaime answered simply.

Taken aback by his honesty and words Katherine was speechless. But that didn't matter, Jaime seemed determined to continue.

"I know it is late in the evening but I should like to dance with you, if you'd oblige me." Not speaking, Katherine nodded once and allowed him to take her by the waist and hand.

Only now did she realize the minstrel was still playing although the other revelers had gone from the terrace. They were alone.

As they danced slowly and closely together Katherine took time to study his handsome face. He was a decade older than her but his features were so young. His face smooth and sun kissed, his hair golden, and eyes a lovely shade of green. Katherine realized this man was beautiful. She could hardly believe he thought she was!

When the song finally ended Jaime drew her in closer for a moment as if to kiss her, but instead her brushed some of the loose curls from her face. Only then did Katherine realize she was holding her breath. _What is happening.._ She thought.

"Princess you are stunning. I should like to get to know you better. Would you be opposed to walking through the gardens with me this week?" With a small nod of "no" that she wouldn't be opposed she was rewarded with a huge smile from the handsome knight. "Excellent, now if you are ready to retire for the evening I would be pleased to escort you to your chambers."  
Finding her voice Katherine agreed, "yes thank you. Walking through the keep alone after large amounts of drinking done by all makes me a bit nervous." Taking her arm and looping it through his Jaime agreed, "yes, exactly why I'd like to walk you back."

As they made their way through the throngs of dancing revelers they soon found themselves back at Katherine's chamber door. All too soon for the princess's taste. Just as she was about to say something he leaned into her and touched her cheek softly. Closing her eyes and allowing herself to enjoy his hand on her face she smiled.

Suddenly she felt his lips pressed softly on hers. They were deliciously full and soft lips and they enveloped hers perfectly. Their soft kiss became deeper as she wound her hand into his lovely golden hair and she heard a small moan escape his lips. Katherine could feel the blood pumping through her faster than ever.

Finally, hearing a small noise somewhere down the hall they broke apart. "I'm sorry.." Jaime began. He was clearly worried she was not welcoming his advance. As a response the Princess touched her lips smoothly to his once more for just a moment. When she pulled away she saw a huge grin on his face.  
"I'll look forward to taking you through the gardens this week, my Princess." Katherine smiled as well, "I'll look forward to you taking me, Ser Jaime."

She closed her door swiftly behind her and fell to her bed giggling. _What had just happened!?_

Shortly after, Margaery Tyrell came bouncing into her chambers, full of wine and desperate to gossip with her friend. Little did she know, Katherine had quite the gossip this time.

After pulling out all the details of her friend's encounter with Jaime Lannister Margaery clapped her and over her mouth. "Do you think he is in love with you!?" Katherine looked scandalized, "Margaery we've only just really met!"

Margaery raised an eyebrow, "seems to me as if you two are well acquainted after this evening.."

Katherine lightly slapped her friend on the arm. "You're one to talk!"

The girls laughed in her chambers for some time before Renly and Loras came charging in. As the girls sat up off the bed, stunned by the rather abrupt entrance they took in their brothers' appearances. Both men looked quite surprised to see the girls there.

"Kate?" Renly questioned.

"Why yes here I am in my chambers, how do you do, and WHY are you barging in like that?!"

Loras and Renly looked back at each other quite stunned, so Loras began next. "Well I don't know how you got up here so quickly but we must speak with you on decorum tomorrow."

Katherine was very confused. "Decorum? What in the Seven are you two going on about?" Renly arched an eyebrow, "come now Kate, we just saw you downstairs attached to Jaime Lannister at the lips." Margaery and Katherine looked at each other, stunned.

"That's impossible.. he kissed me here and went to his chambers." Loras pointed accusatorily. "So there! You did kiss him?" Katherine interrupted, "yes only for a moment.. but that was quite a bit ago and it was up here not down near the Hall."  
Renly started next, "well then it is quite interesting that we just witnessed him in the throes of passion with a woman who could be your twin, my sister." Margaery stood up quickly, "I can't believe that. I want to see."

Dragging her friend downstairs towards the hall, Margaery Tyrell was determined to get to the bottom of this. Followed by their brothers, the ladies made their way downstairs. Finally, reaching a secluded garden entrance near the Hall they found what they were looking for..

There was Jaime Lannister with his arms wrapped around a woman with long dark hair and a red dress. They only watched a moment before they observed him take her hand and lead her off in the other direction towards his chambers.

Katherine turned to face her brother. Her eyes betraying her hurt. Though she did not cry in front of the Tyrells, Renly could see her dark eyelashes were laced with tears. Taking her hand he pulled her into a warm embrace. "Don't worry dear sister, we shall right this wrong. Remember our words?"

Letting her out of his arms he looked down to his younger sister and thumbed her chin up towards his gaze. She met his eyes and said with a whisper, "Ours is the Fury." Renly smiled grimly, "yes dear one, it is. Ours is the Fury."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hey guys! Thanks for reading, I'm glad to see so many people are enjoying Katherine's storyline! Hang in there for the Jaime/Katherine romance, it has to build to make sense, but I already have a LOT in store for them, so stay tuned! I hope you guys like the involvement of Loras and Margaery, I think they're great friends for the Baratheon siblings to have (sorry they're not in this update!) And if you have and questions/suggestions, feel free to reach out in a review!**

The next several days after witnessing Jaime in the garden with that woman were grueling. Katherine felt embarrassed about what had transpired between them.. she knew she should have known better.

The positive was that it seemed to have brought Renly's attention back to the fact that his younger sister needed him. He often became so tied up in his own life that he overlooked her. This would change now.

Jaime Lannister had taken advantage of her. He had harmed the youngest stag, and now he would feel their fury. Renly was almost shaking with the excitement of telling Robert about his lecherous brother in law. He was waiting for the right moment.

Finally, three days after the incident Renly found himself strolling in the gardens with his sister on his arm. Margaery and Loras were taking lunch with their grandmother Olenna, who had just arrived from Highgarden, for a short visit.

Katherine had been very quiet the past few days and that concerned her brother. "Katie what can I say that will give you happiness?" Katherine sighed, she knew he was trying to help but she didn't have an answer for him. "Nothing brother, your company is all I desire today."

Smiling Renly continued, "sweet sister you are very dear to me. I shall begin thinking of a match for you I think. It would be good to take you out of Kings Landing." At this Katherine paused, " you would marry me off and send me away then?"

Renly paused as well and turned to face his sister, taking both of her small hands in his. "No Kate but I would see you gone from this pit of snakes with a man who will take care of you." I do not wish to wait until our hands are forced.

Just as she began to respond, "Renly I don't-" Katherine was interrupted by her brother's face turning suddenly angry as he peered over her shoulder. Turning to see what had disturbed him so, Katherine's eyes met a pair of green ones headed towards them.

As she looked back to her brother and groaned Katherine clutched his hand tighter in hers. Renly kissed her little hand before he straightened himself up, and turned towards the approaching man. His face was set in a noticeably distasteful look. He had been waiting for this.

Jaime clenched his jaw when he saw the aversion on Renly Baratheon's face. Though he didn't know why the youngest Baratheon brother would be so angry with him, he had some idea that it had to do with the princess whose hand he was clutching so tightly. He also didn't miss how Renly positioned himself between him and the Princess.

Jaime didn't have time for this, he wanted to know what had changed with Katherine. "My princess.." But he only got those two words out before Renly stopped him sharply. "You will not speak to her Lannister!"

Jaime rolled his eyes, annoyed. "What possible absurd reason could you have to stop me from speaking to the Princess? Surely it hasn't been outlawed by the King?"

Renly sneered at him. "You and your depraved actions have ensured you will not speak to my sweet sister ever again Lannister. Had I been paying better attention at that feast you wouldn't have ever laid a hand on her to begin with!"

As he spoke Renly became more and more angry. Jaime could tell he was incensed, and from Renly's words he assumed he knew about Jaime kissing the Princess. Trying to alleviate the situation Jaime spoke with more restraint.  
"I can see you are not pleased with me, but if you'll ask your sister she will tell you she was not taken advantage of and that I left her at the door to her chamber with nothing more than a small kiss."

What Jaime Lannister was not expecting was Renly to laugh in his face. "HA! You think I am angry you pawed at my sister as if she was one of your whores? No, that I would discipline her for, for a lack of judgement."

Now Jaime was confused, _what possible reason could the Baratheon siblings have to be angry with him…_

Renly spoke again, "No Lannister, what I was repulsed by on the evening of the feast, was seeing you with a whore who was clearly supposed to resemble my sweet sister."

Jaime's eyes grew wide. _No. She hadn't seen._ Looking around Renly at his sister who had her eyes clenched shut he knew she had. His heart sank. _I am disgusting._

Renly continued. "Your depravity knows no ends, you sick bastard. You will stay far away from Katherine and you will certainly not address her again. Wait until Robert hears.."

But before Renly could continue, their king brother did appear. Strolling through the gardens with a Lannister page who carried wine, Robert was clearly enjoying himself. Stumbling upon his younger siblings was a welcome sight that was ruined when he saw who was standing with them.

"Until Robert hears what?" the King boomed. Jaime's face looked horrified for a moment before he caught himself and bowed smoothly, "your grace…" The King waved him off, more interested in his siblings. "You were saying, Renly?"

Renly smirked, ready to show the Lannister trash what Fury truly meant when his sister spoke first. "Renly was just telling Ser Jaime about my desire to travel the Seven Kingdoms." Renly's face dropped as he turned to look at his sister. Her eyes were pleading. Jaime observed the two of them with total shock.

Robert's face scrunched up with confusion. "What is this?" Katherine moved towards her elder brother and took his hand in hers. "Well your grace, it may seem silly for a woman to say such things but I was expressing to dear Renly that I should like to see more of the Seven Kingdoms than I have already in my years."

The King's face relaxed with his sister's words. He chucked loudly, "sweet girl you are so much like I was! A sense of adventure, eh? A true Baratheon! Well luckily I have such an opportunity for you."

Now the three people in the presence of the King all looked on interestedly. This conversation was taking turns so fast they couldn't keep up. "Jon Arryn's body has been cold for two moons and still I've yet to decide who will replace him. I think that is because the man for the job isn't in Kings Landing. I will ride north to Winterfell within a moon and I shall take you with me sister. You shall see much of our Kingdom now!"

Katherine widened her eyes. Though she hadn't intended on seeing the Kingdom she was excited at he opportunity. "Your grace you are too generous! I shall be honored to accompany you." The King smiled and gruffly kissed her hand as he began to walk away. "We will discuss this more soon, goodbye sweet sister! Renly.. Lannister.."

Once the King had gone Renly turned on his sister quickly, "what in the gods name was that for!? He could hardly believe what had just transpired. Katherine looked down, unable to meet his eyes. "It wasn't worth getting Robert involved Renly, can't you see that?"

Renly had to concede. That would have been much more trouble than it was worth. He sighed and finally remembered Jaime Lannister was still standing with them. Turning back to the man that had brought this whole wretched conversation on them he sneered again.

"You will consider yourself lucky that my sweet sister is so kind hearted. Had Robert found out what you had done your head would be on a spike before sundown." Jaime tried to look unaffected but he was unsuccessful as he knew Renly's words were true. The King cherished his sister.

"Look- if you'll let me explain what happened…" Renly interrupted, "we won't have any of your words or explanations Lannister! You'll leave my sister be and you will keep your whores out of the Red Keep!"

Jaime had no choice but to nod his head. But before he left he spoke loudly and craned his neck around Renly so he could see Katherine once again. "You should know I am deeply sorry for what you saw. It will never happen again."

Before Renly could speak Katherine cut in. Carefully articulating her words equally with spite, hatred, and coldness, she spoke "I do not care what you do. You are repulsive."

Renly smirked as he watched his sister's words cut the lion down. He grabbed her arm once more and they strolled off leaving Jaime alone.

Jaime sat down on the bench next to where they had stood. Left alone with his thoughts he cursed himself. _What have I done? Why would I take a whore into my bed after so many years of spurning them._ Being honest with himself he knew why. _I wanted it to be her. I knew it couldn't ever be her so I just made do. Now I've spoiled everything and I won't even be able to spend time in her company. I am truly a fool._


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hey guys thanks for reading! Hopefully everyone enjoyed the last update. We will be in Winterfell for the next couple chapters, so here is one to get you started off! Evaline101 wanted to know if Jaime and Cersei weren't ever together in my story and my answer to that is.. you'll get a hint in this chapter and an answer in the next! :) Happy reading! Let me know if there are any scenes in particular you want to see or any suggestions you have! -B**

After successfully avoiding being in Jaime Lannister's presence for the following month, Katherine suddenly found herself stuck with him for the foreseeable future. They had been travelling for almost a month when Winterfell was finally in sight. It was certainly a welcome one for the princess.

The only positive about the trip was that she had managed to twister her brother's arm to ride horseback for the journey rather than ride in the carriage with Cersei and the children. Robbert didn't know why his wife didn't like his sister, but he didn't care, he'd rather Kate ride with him anyways.

The King spent most of the ride swigging from a skin of wine, while his sister told him stories about growing up at Highgarden with the Tyrells. He caused her to almost fall from her mount when he asked whether she would consider Loras as a possible husband.

Jaime was riding behind the King and his sister when he heard Robbert ask Katherine if she was interested in Loras Tyrell. Jaime strained as hard as he could to hear her response. He could see she was uncomfortable but he didn't know why. _Maybe because she does care for him. Maybe she is just nervous to tell her brother._

Katherine softly replied that she thought Loras might already be seeing someone. Jaime couldn't hear her response but he heard Robbert's laugh and reply.

"Fine, he is too flowery for you anyway I will find my sister a strong man who can care for her!" Robbert seemed to be growing excited at the prospects of marrying off his younger sister. He was clearly hoping to make an alliance in the process.

Jaime rolled his eyes behind them as he listened to Robbert list off all houses with men of marrying age who were between the ages of 40 and 60. He thought it was outrageous to even consider marrying the pretty girl off to an old man. But then he remembered how much the Princess detested him and he felt his chest tighten. There was no fixing what he had done.

He felt sick when he thought about what she had seen. The one lapse in his judgement. The one time he slipped into his temptations. It was true he had thought about it before. He had thought about it since he first saw that whore at Baelish's establishment on one of his journeys to drag Tyrion out of it.

He saw her long dark hair, light skin, and light eyes and he knew she had to be from the Storm Lands. He immediately thought of the Princess who had just arrived in Kings Landing just a few months before. When he had first saw the Princess he thought she was beautiful but back then, seeing the whore's similar looks in such revealing attire he had begun to wonder what the Princess would look like dressed like that.. or in less.

From that moment on his thoughts had been consumed by the King's beautiful sister and her dark hair. The way she wore it down, so unlike the other ladies at court. He was intent on finding out more about her, which had led to him following her out onto the terrace that evening and asking her about herself.

When she had spoken so sweetly she confirmed everything he hoped she was, and then kissing her at the end of the evening had been like living someone else's life. He could scarcely believe how the evening had turned out. And he had ruined it.

He had wanted so much more than just the kiss, but he had thought about her for a more than a year, so he let his physical needs overtake his logic and he called for the whore. He truly didn't think about what he planned to do. Only that he needed his release and if it couldn't be from the woman he wanted this one would have to do.

One lapse of judgement and he had been caught. One mistake and he was barred from speaking to the Princess by her brother who suddenly had found his Fury after so long. _Thank the Seven Renly had been left in Kings Landing to act as Robbert's hand._

While Jaime had been lost in his thoughts they had finally closed in on Winterfell. He could see the men opening the gates to allow them in and he took a deep breath to get himself back together. There was no time to act like some love-struck teenager, he was a man of the Kingsguard and he would look the part.

Sitting up straight on his steed and plastering his signature bored smirk on his face he prepared to ride into Winterfell. Just ahead of him rode the King and his sister. Joffrey had mounted his horse a few hours before, no doubt to look impressive when they rode into Winterfell. He wouldn't have wanted the ladies of Winterfell to know he rode in a carriage the entire way.

As Joffrey pushed ahead of the crowd to ride next to his father, Katherine gracefully allowed her disgusting nephew ahead of her, and she fell back in pace with Jaime. Jaime didn't attempt to speak to the Princess, he knew what the result would be. Instead they rode in silence.

When they finally reached the square inside Winterfell's gates it was quite an event getting the King down from his horse. When Katherine watched this she considered how she would look dismounting her horse. She had never tried to lower herself gracefully in a gown and she hadn't thought of that until just now.

Before she spent too long thinking about the logistics of gracefully dismounting in front of the Stark family, she was saved from this dilemma by a pair of unwelcome hands on her small waist.

Jaime Lannister had apparently already dismounted and reached up to help the Princess down. Realizing there was no graceful way down but this, Katherine accepted his help. Jaime took her waist in both hands and she put her hands on his shoulders as he slowly lowered her down.

As their eyes met the Princess gave him the smallest nod of thanks and immediately moved away from him, to stand behind her brother. Robbert went down the line of Stark children, meeting each one, and then spoke to his friend. Finally, he called his sister over to meet Eddard Stark.

Ned smiled when he saw Katherine. "My Princess" he said, bowing low and kissing her hand. "I have not seen you since you were but a babe in Robberts arms! You have grown into an incredibly beautiful young woman." Robbert's laugh boomed through the square as he clapped his friend on the shoulder. "Ned! Save the compliments for your son to speak! My sister is in need of a match!"

It was at this moment that Katherine considered for the first time that she had possibly been brought to the North to be married off. Trying to keep her face neutral she was more than mortified when she was immediately introduced to the Stark children, beginning with the eldest son.

As Robbert pushed her in front of Robb Stark, Katherine met his eyes shyly. She was pleased to see he had the decency to look mortified as well. As the King's voice boomed through the square, demanding to see the crypts of Winterfell and his beloved Lyanna, Robb Stark spoke.

"My Princess, it is my absolute pleasure to meet you." He then lowered his voice, "I am sorry about all this." With his words Katherine smiled, he seemed to be friendly and she liked that.

Robb Stark then offered her his arm and explained that he would show her to her chambers, as he gave her a tour of Winterfell, per the King's wishes of course. Jaime Lannister suddenly found it hard to breathe. _Of course that is why Robbert brought her. The heir to Winterfell would be her husband. He had spent all that time talking about old men as husbands and now she will find the young heir to the North quite attractive in comparison. With this match he can live out his fantasy of marrying Lyanna in some sick way.._ It turned his stomach so he quickly turned away.

He saw his sister barking orders to Lancel, the fool Lannister page to the King. She wanted Lancel to go find Tyrion, who had of course slipped away from the Royal procession at some point to slip into someone else. As Lancel wandered off aimlessly Jaime almost felt bad for him to have fallen into his sister's twisted claws, but then he found he didn't care.

Sulking off to find his chambers Jaime realized it would be a long cold visit to the North. He did not look forward to it.

Meanwhile, Robb Stark was escorting Katherine Baratheon to her chambers. As they walked along in silence with their arms loosely linked the heir to the North tried his best to ease the tension.

"Have you traveled to other places in the Seven Kingdoms, my Princess?" he tried lightly. Katherine turned to face him, "My lord you must call me Katherine, I hope we can be friends." Robb's kind smile warmed her heart. "Then you will call me Robb, I think we shall be friends Katherine."

They continued on their tour of Winterfell engaging in lighthearted conversations about their lives and Katherine returned late to her chambers feeling happier than she had in some time.

This man was honorable, kind, and caring. He was the sort of man she could marry. And maybe one day she shall…


	6. Chapter 6

The next few weeks at Winterfell were some of the best weeks of Katherine's life. She spent almost all of her time in the company of Robb Stark and it was going pleasantly. The Princess found him to be intelligent, kind, and thoughtful while the heir to Winterfell found her to be sweet, clever, and talented.

One day in particular Robb was a bit put out because he had promised to take Bran to the archery range when he ran into Katherine. He ideally wanted to spend the time with her but he couldn't cancel his lesson with Bran. Luckily for him she had a solution, "I could come and practice my archery if you don't mind.." the Princess suggested.

Robb was astonished. "You practice archery?" Katherine nodded shyly, "yes Robert and I used to shoot when I was younger, and then after that Loras Tyrell and I would practice in Highgarden." As they walked down to the practice fields he asked the Princess more about her childhood.

"I spent a great deal of time between Highgarden and Storms End, though Renly and I preferred the Reach, simply because we had friends there." Rob questioned, "Ser Loras and Lady Margaery Tyrell?" Katherine nodded, "yes we were all quite close. Loras and I would practice archery for hours a day. He is an incredible swordsman as well, I wish I had learned more!"

Robb felt a bit of heat in his chest. _Am I truly jealous of a knight I do not even know, about a woman who is not mine to be jealous for? What has happened to me.._ "…but I preferred archery so it's best I stick with it." Katherine finished.

Robb nodded with a smile as they reached the field. Knights, swordsmen, squires, and pages ran all over the large grounds for training. Robb called over to his younger brother Bran, and the three of them started over to the archery post.

They shared several hours of laughter and friendly teasing, and Robb found out that the Princess was a much better shot than he had imagined possible. _She really is as good as she looks_ he thought to himself. Shaking his head of more thoughts he called over to Bran, "it is almost time for supper Bran! Go get yourself cleaned up!"

Bran ran ahead towards the castle as Robb offered Katherine his arm. As they headed back towards the castle something caught Katherine's eye. She noticed Jaime Lannister engaged in a sparring match with a large knight from Winterfell. He easily dispatched his foe and was named victor. His eyes passed right over her with no indication of recognition or his usual smirk. For some reason the Princess wasn't quite satisfied with this.

She settled for clutching onto Robb's arm a bit tighter and laughing at the story he was telling. _Finally I have met a man worthy of spending my time with._ Part of the nice thing about Robb Stark was that she knew her brother already approved of the match! There would be no question of if he would allow them to be married. She was content knowing this.

At supper Katherine spent the evening chatting with Sansa Stark, whom she found lovely and charming, if not a bit starry-eyed. But the girl was young and had plenty of years to grow. The girls chatted about handsome knights and ladies at court. Sansa wanted to know everything.

"Is Ser Loras _really_ as handsome as they say? I've heard he is called the Knight of Flowers!" Sansa said with a blush. Katherine smiled widely, " _more_ handsome than they say, and quite friendly! He and I were the best of friends." Robb was listening unnoticed, to the right of the girls. "But he and I will always just be friends, he is truly a brother to me; he and Renly are inseparable!" Robb visibly exhaled with relief.

With newfound courage Robb stood and approached the Princess. "My Princess, will you honor me with a dance this evening?" Katherine smiled widely, "I would honor you better by not dancing with you and making a fool of myself, but if you desire to dance with me I will acquiesce!"

As the young couple strolled away to the dancefloor together Sansa couldn't help but sigh dreamily. _They are a dream couple. I hope my match will the Prince will be like that._ She admired the Princess in many ways, her clothes, her manners, the easy way she spoke to anyone. Sansa hoped to learn from her when they returned to the Capitol.

But then the thought occurred to Sansa, _if Katherine returns to Kings Landing it will mean she did not stay here and marry Robb.._ After careful consideration she found she would rather her brother marry the pretty Princess than have her for a friend in Kings Landing. Smiling contentedly Sansa continued her supper

After sharing many dances together and even more laughter Katherine found herself ready to retire. Robb, being an honorable and kind man, offered to escort her back to her chambers- which she accepted.

As they climbed the stairs to her chambers they laughed as they did impressions of the Queen's clearly glazed over expression at the feast. "Some ladies just can't hold their wine as well as I do!" Katherine sung merrily. Robb found himself grinning broadly at the Princess's sense of humor. "No, I suppose not. No one is quite as entertaining as you my Princess."

Finding themselves at the door to her chamber they stopped. Robb turned to face the Princess and he reached slowly for her hand. Taking it in his, he gave her a small, sweet kiss on the back of her hand. "Goodnight Katherine, I shall see you in the morning. Sleep well." He spoke softly and gave her a kind smile as he left.

Katherine smiled as well as she entered her chambers, but something didn't seem right. As she sat down onto her bed she recalled a very similar incident a few years ago.. When Jaime Lannister had done the same, but he had pulled her into a very passionate kiss and held her close to him. She frowned as she remembered the passion between them. _I must have imagined it.. I was only sixteen_ , she reasoned with herself. Still as she slept that evening, it was green eyes that she saw, not blue.

The next several weeks flew by, and before she knew it, it was time to plan for their departure for Kings Landing. Katherine had anxiously been awaiting news from her brother of her betrothal, but having heard none so soon to departure she sought out Robert. Finding him in the Great Hall, dining after a ride with a few men Katherine sat down with him.

"Dear brother.. I hoped to speak to you for a moment." Robert nodded with his mouth full, meaning she should continue. "I know you had mentioned it a few times before we arrived, but I notice you have not again mentioned my betrothal to Robb Stark. Robert gulped at his cup of wine, showing no sign of a response yet. Katherine tried again, "so your grace, what I am saying is that clearly you can see he and I get on very well and I was hoping to get an answer.. as you will be departing for Kings Landing shortly."

Robert finally spoke, but it was not words she wanted to hear. "We." "What do you mean-" Robert cut in, "I mean what I said, WE will be departing for Kings Landing shortly. You with me." Katherine sat there stunned. She had not expected this at all.

Speechless and horrified she gaped at her brother. "Don't act all surprised, I never promised anything." Katherine was mad now. "You complained about needing a match for me! You practically threw me at him! Now after a month of letting me dance with him and spend hours with him, like some fool, you'll take me back to Kings Landing? What madness is this!?"

With the word 'madness' she knew she had made a mistake so the hard slap across her face was not a surprise. She made no noise but stood quietly. "I apologize your grace. By your leave." He nodded and she hurriedly left the room.

As she reached the doors she caught Jaime Lannister's eyes. He was in his Kingsguard armor and was posted at the inside of the door to the Hall; no doubt he had heard the entire thing. Subconsciously lifting her small hand to her newly reddened cheek, Katherine swept past the knight and left.

Though Jaime did not care for the girl anymore, he felt a surge of anger sweep through him as he watched the King strike his sister. He admired her for her silent acceptance of it, and how she left with no tears or reaction. But seeing her rush out with her face already bruising made Jaime feel sick to his stomach. He didn't know how much longer he could stand to serve this King.

Several days later the Royal Family departed Winterfell with a few new companions, Ned Stark and his two daughters. Katherine had exchanged a sad good bye with Robb, with a little hope for the future. Soon after her incident with Robert, he had called her to his chambers and admitted that he didn't want her to leave Kings Landing yet. He wasn't ready to give her company up to let her be married. He agreed that if in one year's time that both she and Robb still consented to the union that he would bless it and allow her to return to Winterfell for good. This was enough for Katherine and she gave her brother a great hug. All was forgiven if she could still marry Robb in a year.

They set back on the long road to Kings Landing and somehow Katherine didn't feel so sad leaving, for her thoughts were wrapped up in the man she would be returning to in just a year.

…

Unfortunately what she didn't know was that when they returned to Kings Landing things were about to change for her, and everyone she loved.


	7. Chapter 7

After a long month of riding Kings Landing was within eyesight. Katherine was certainly glad to be done with this trip, it had been even more dreadful than the journey to Winterfell. Joffrey had gotten into an altercation with the younger Stark girl and whatever the issue had been, the outcome had been that Sansa's direwolf was killed.

Katherine had consoled Sansa Stark in any way she could. She truly liked the girl and hoped they could be friends at court. Sansa seemed pleased to have a new friend for she wasn't keen on her sister anymore. Ned Stark didn't seem to want any part in the fight between his daughters, which was probably a good choice on his part.

The last night before they reached Kings Landing Katherine had called Sansa into her tent and promised her that they would dine together as soon as possible when they reached Kings Landing. The Princess told Sansa about Margaery Tyrell, and how they would all be fast friends. Sansa felt a bit more uplifted upon hearing this. So now, with the Red Keep in sight, she was happy to be at her new home.

The proper procedure for arriving in Kings Landing with the King would have been for the Royal party to all arrive at one time, and be received by the Small Council and High Lords of the Realm, and feast shortly after. But, tired of riding and furious with the drunk Queen in her litter Katherine would have no more of it.

She and Cersei had had words in the morning when the Princess refused to ride in the litter again. "Forgive me little stag, but isn't it proper for a lady to ride in a litter, not out on horseback like some common man?" Katherine had rolled her eyes, "I suppose the King is a common man then?" The Queen's eyes lit up with anger at the retort and before she could speak again Katherine interjected, "I will not ride in a carriage with you as you drink a barrel of wine. Fresh air agrees with me more than sick."

Seeing the Queen incensed Katherine turned and strolled off. She could hear the cup of wine the Queen threw at her fall to the floor, having missed its target and she knew that she probably was covered in the red liquid but she cared not as long as she still rode horseback. Cersei and she had been politely threatening each other for almost 3 years now. This was nothing new. Katherine had grown tired of her brother's wife.

As she approached the front of the party where she would ride next to her King brother, she interrupted his discussion with Jaime Lannister. It seemed like they were discussing how long they would be travelling, and Katherine had nothing to say so she stood next to her horse and waited until her brother was ready.

Catching sight of his sister the King let out a huge laugh, "sister, you seem to have worn more of your wine than you drank!" As he carried on Katherine responded "it is too early for me to drink wine, brother." With that her brother stopped laughing quickly and a dark look flashed across his face as he glanced back at the carriage his wife was stepping into.

Before she knew what was happening, Katherine felt Jaime's hands on her waist as he lifted her onto her horse. She felt her face scrunch up with annoyance at his touch. Before he pulled away he glanced back to her stained back of her dress and then to her. As their eyes met his danced with amusement and his eyebrows rose. He moved away after that, but it was clear he knew what the source of the stain had been.

So now as they were approaching the Red Keep, with the promise of having to come face to face with the Queen again, Katherine decided she had had enough and she rode off ahead. As she galloped off into the Keep the King nodded his head to his brother in law and sent him off after her. Even though they were within the city walls, there was no guarantee of her safety with most of the guards still back with the King.

Shortly after, Katherine found herself at the courtyard nearest to her chambers. She was glad to not be in the large party with the Royal Family. They would have pomp and circumstance for the King's return out at the front gates of the Keep and that was too much for the Princess after such a long ride.

She hopped off of her mount, quite ungracefully with her skirts all caught up in the saddle but she cared not. A page was nearby and he came over to take her horse to the stables for her. As she strode off she did so with the distinct feeling that someone was following her. With no intention of speaking to whomever it was she continued to her chambers quickly.

Just as she came to her chamber door and was in the process of closing it a hand stopped her. She looked at the hand on the door and the fine ruby ring that adorned it. Knowing what she would see when she looked up she met the bright green eyes peering through the door at her.

Rolling her eyes into her head she spoke, "what?" Jaime Lannister pushed the door open a bit more and gave her his signature lazy smile, "I assure you Princess I don't enjoy following you around-" Katherine cut in "no actually I think that is exactly what you enjoy doing!" Jaime smiled broadly, "well as it were, the King ordered me to ensure his precious sister returned safely to her chambers."

"Well here I am in my chambers."

"Is everything alright?"

"Everything is fine." Her mind darted back to the incident with Cersei this morning but she quickly put it out of her mind.

"You are sure nothing is bothering you?" Katherine was slightly unsettled by how genuine his face appeared but she reminded herself that this was all part of his game. _Never trust a Lannister_ as her brother always said.

"YOU are all that is bothering me now!" She replied sharply.

Jaime's face fell for a moment, but just long enough to be noticed by Katherine. She almost felt bad for him.. until he responded. "Alright then Princess.. I'm sure you want to spend the next 12 moons alone in your chambers contemplating your deep love and affection for the heir to the North. By your leave then."

Before she could reply he shut the door, turned on his heel, and strode off. Katherine opened the door and watched as he left. She wondered why he asked her that for a moment but the she decided it was pure meddling on his part. _He probably wanted to be able to picture his insane sister tossing her wine on me._ She thought angrily. With that she changed and got ready to retire.

The Hand's welcome feast was to be held within a week. By the time it rolled around, court had returned to its lively state. Everyone was excited for the tourney, feast, and dancing.

The day passed quickly for Katherine, who had drank quite a lot of wine at Margaery's encouragement. They had a fine time at the tourney, save for the part where the Mountain almost brutally murdered Loras… But once Loras had crowned his sister as the Queen of Love and Beauty, the day continued joyously.

At the feast Katherine and Margaery danced with Renly and Loras for hours. They all liked a lively feast and they had all drank quite a lot. When Loras spun Katherine for a few turns and then she fell into his arms they both laughed heartily. They were quite under the influence and having a fabulous time. He gave her a soft kiss on her lips and they laughed even more.

This was a bit of a joke between the four of them; how it would be best to allow rumors of Loras and Katherine, as well as about Renly and Margaery, if it would save the exposure of the men's relationship with each other.

From time to time Loras and Katherine would walk through the gardens arm in arm, to perpetuate such rumors and it had always worked out quite well. Not well enough that marriage had ever been mentioned, but just well enough that people were never suspicious of the knight and the king's brother.

Of course, in their wine induced glee they had forgotten all about Robb Stark of the North. Luckily for them, only one person saw their exchange. Unluckily for them, that person was Jaime Lannister. He smashed his goblet to the table angrily.

 _It was all well and good when she was happy to be with the Stark boy. She loved him or so it appeared.. He has a nice family and she would have been treated well had she married him. But it appears as if Katherine will just kiss any handsome man in front of her at the moment. She wasn't worth my time clearly._

He was seething. He clearly had held the Princess in too high regard. At the exactly wrong moment, Baelish's girl from the Stormlands, with the long dark hair came up to him.

"Can I take you to your chambers, Jaime?" She whispered seductively in his ear. Katherine and Loras looked up just in time to see his face scrunch up in disgust as he shoved her off his lap. "No and you won't speak to me familiarly again." The girl ran off looking annoyed.

Loras met Katherine's eyes and raised his eyebrows. "Don't…" she warned. He smiled and gave her hand a kiss as they continued to dance. After some time she met her brother's eyes and he gave her a small nod. With that she said in a slightly raised voice, "Ser Loras, I believe I am ready to retire, would you be so kind as to see me safely to my chambers?" Loras gave her a small bow and replied, "surely my Princess."

Moments later, had anyone paid any attention, a similar conversation took place between Margaery Tyrell and Renly Baratheon. Shortly after a small knock came on Katherine's door, as it was pushed open. Renly, having just come from taking Margaery to her chambers, peered inside his sister's rooms. Seeing his sister and his lover seated in her chambers he gave a wry smile.

"Stealing my lover, sister? How cruel." They all laughed as they discussed the evening. Loras recounted how Jaime had sent the whore away but Renly had the same reaction as Katherine. The Baratheon siblings were quite more unforgiving than the Tyrells were. They discussed the tourney coming up in a fortnight and debated the finer points of who might be a contender, and Renly spent a great deal of time bemoaning the hunting trip he and Robert were leaving on in the morning. Finally after some time, they men left Katherine and retired to Renly's chambers.

Katherine fell asleep that night with a smile on her face.

The next day Katherine went about her business as normal. She dined with the Tyrells because Renly and Robert wouldn't be present for the Royal Family meals and she didn't intend to break her fast with the Queen and her rotten son. She enjoyed a bit of light conversation with Olenna Tyrell, who approved of a marriage to Robb Stark.

"The Starks are loyal, honorable, and kind. He won't scheme and plot, he will treat you kindly, and you'll have a nice simple life away from court. That would be lovely for you dear I hope it is what you desire." Katherine nodded happily, "I will certainly miss your family but I am sure Robb will be the type of husband to welcome my friends into our home, or allow me to travel to see them."

Olenna smiled, now she only needed to find matches for her grandchildren. That would be tricky with Margaery's questionable love life, and Loras' more than questionable love life. What a hand to be dealt! _At least they're smart and attractive children…_ Olenna thought happily.

After a lovely meal, Margaery and Katherine strolled arm in arm through the gardens for the rest of the day. Just as they were coming to the courtyard closest to their quarters they heard a commotion. Renly was running through the corridor covered in blood. Katherine gasped.

Running to her brother and grabbing him she spoke "Renly! RENLY! Dear brother are you hurt?" She frantically felt all over his body as she searched for the source of the blood. Not finding it she finally met his eyes. His whole body was shaking and he was pale white.

Suddenly realizing what could have caused such a reaction in her brother she brought her hand up to her mouth. With one word he broke her reverie. "Robert." With that the two of them took off towards the King's chambers.

By the time they reached them there was a swarm of activity going on. Maesters, Septons, maids, pages, Ser Barristen, bustled around the door. Pushing their way in to the King, Renly and Katherine entered.

A terrible sight met their eyes. The King was being wrapped up in bandages that he was bleeding though faster than they could wrap them. His siblings stood to the back of the room until the bandaging was finished. The Queen was not present yet, only a Maester. Once the bandaging was through, the King screamed for the Maester to leave them.

Rushing to his side Katherine and Renly both fell to their knees. Both sibling were crying. This warmed Robert's heart as he looked at his youngest siblings. _So they truly love me_ he thought. _More than my own wife or children do surely…_ Brushing off his thoughts he spoke.

"I will not live…" Katherine made a noise, "Robert!" He waved her off, "it is true. A great boar skewered me and it went through. I can't survive this. But I will speak to you while I still can speak clearly. I won't have either of you see the end of this."

Renly and Katherine nodded, meeting his eyes. "I am proud of the two of you. I was harsh on you Renly, I told you to man up and start taking on responsibility, but you have. You did well these last years on my council and it has nothing to do with me. The Tyrells did good by you and we shall honor them in time. And you Katherine, the same. You have turned into a young woman of great morals and honor. Our family owes Lady Olenna for that, having no women for you to emulate here, that is for sure. Tell her I thank her for raising my sister into a true Princess."

Katherine and Renly both nodded with their eyes brimming in tears. Robert continued. "My son will become king soon and I regret to say I wish he would not. He is not ready. I will have Ned act as the Lord Protector. He has raised good children and I hope he can guide my son to be half the man his own son is. I failed as a father and I don't know whether anyone can correct the wrongs that woman taught our son. I sincerely wish there was a way that the crown could skip him and go to either of you… I want you to know that. Either of you would be a better ruler than that boy. But try to help Ned in any way you can. He has a good heart."

Robert said many things to them about his great love for them and his pride in their accomplishments. It was his honesty that convinced the siblings that he was, in fact, dying. After some time the Queen finally stormed in and demanded the attention of her husband.

Robert smiled at his siblings as he gave them each one last kiss. "Remember our words Renly, Kate, _Ours is the Fury._ And show anyone who wrongs you what that means. I love you both, take your leave now." Saying their goodbyes, the siblings left, stricken with grief.

They stood outside of the King's chambers holding onto each other, Katherine quietly sobbing into her brother's shoulders. Jaime Lannister was standing outside in his Kingsguard armor and he met her eyes briefly. He had a look of pure sympathy on his face and he gave her a small nod. She gave the same nod back.

Soon Renly took his sister by the hand and the slowly walked away. Before they got very far a page rushed up to them. "A letter Sir. From the Vale." Renly's face was pure confusion. "The Vale?" The page was clearly flustered. "Yes Sir, it is from Lady Lysa, she said it was urgent you received this and that it was for your eyes and your eyes only. Well you and your brother. She sent another page with a letter for Stannis."

Katherine and Renly both were stunned. Lysa Arryn had not been a particularly close friend of theirs while she was at Kings Landing, though they cared deeply for her late husband. Heeding the young man's words Renly took the letter and continued to their chambers. Leaving Katherine at her door he promised her that he would speak to her in the morning. With a small kiss on the cheek Renly retired to his chambers with the letter from the Vale.

Katherine was so overcome with grief at her elder brother's injury she forgot to ask Renly about the letter that evening and after several hours of tossing and turning, fell into a fitful sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Hey guys! Thanks so much for reading! I love seeing how many people are enjoying the story. If anyone has any suggestions I would love some input, even if it is just saying you like the way the story is going, or you want to see more of a favorite character. Happy reading! -B**

Lying in bed, fitfully attempting sleep, Katherine Baratheon thought that she had seen the most terrible moment of the day; her older brother skewered like a pig, by a pig. But, she would be wrong in thinking that because at that moment when she first was able to close her eyes a person burst into her chambers. A most unwelcome visitor at this hour, but considering the visitor this person was a most unwelcome visitor at any hour.

Before Katherine had a moment to cover herself for any amount of decency or scream at him to leave her chambers, Jaime Lannister had crossed the room in one swift movement and had his hand over her mouth. Without any chance to protest Katherine could only look at him wide-eyed and horrified. Had she not been so disoriented she may have thought to bite his hand or slap him, but all she could think about was what reason the Kingslayer would have to be in her rooms. Before she could think any further the Kingslayer spoke.

"Princess please do not scream, I must speak to you and we must speak fast, there is no time." Katherine's panic slowly faded as she saw he didn't seem to mean any harm to her. "I will take my hand off of your mouth but you cannot scream, do you understand Princess?"

Jaime's urgency disturbed her a bit. Katherine wasn't used to being spoken to like this. The Kingslayer had often been ordered not to speak to her, by Renly, so she wasn't used to being addressed by him at all. As he slowly withdrew his hand, testing her, she brought her own small hand to her mouth. Rubbing the spot where the Kingslayer's hand had been a moment before she finally spoke.

"Ser Jaime, what possible reason could you have to wake me at such an hour! In fact, what possible reason could you have to be in my chambers at all!" Jaime would have been amused by her pretty words spoken in haste, if he wasn't in a terrible rush himself.

"You must begin to pack as we speak. I have no-" But Katherine stopped him, "pack? What do you mean by that? I am going nowhere! My brother lies moaning in bed from a mortal wound and he needs m-"

This time it was Jaime who cut her off. He spoke as quickly as possible. "My Princess it grieves me greatly to be the one to tell you this, but the King, your brother, expired within the hour. This is the reason for my visit. I must take you from the city now. There are things in motion here that I cannot put a stop to. The Queen will have you killed if you are here when her men come in the morning. "

Katherine fell to her bed in stunned silence. So many things were swirling in her head. The Queen was totally mad and the Kingslayer wanted to take her from the city. Nothing was making sense. She had to see Robert. Katherine stood quickly and made for the door. As she felt her hand on the door she also felt a hand on her shoulder. Then she recalled the Kingslayer's words… Robert was dead. No one to turn to. With wild panic Katherine shook her head frantically. "No. No it can't be."

Jaime sighed, he knew this would be difficult but he hadn't realized how much was taking away from the young Princess. It was all gone.

Katherine finally came to her senses with a start "Renly!" She dashed again for the door to rush next door to Renly's chambers and again, Ser Jaime stopped her. "Princess please listen to me.. Renly is gone. He and Loras Tyrell were seen by a very reliable source leaving the Red Keep but a half hour ago.. headed no doubt for The Reach." Katherine paled. "Gone?"

Jaime sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He could see how this was looking to her. Yes her brother had abandoned her but there was no time to be angry about it. "Yes. He made great haste to leave under the cover of darkness and I doubt anyone has noticed his absence yet. We must hurry so we can meet him now."

The Princess was lost for words this time. She sat on her bed for a moment and let Jaime explain. "He left quickly because I'm sure he felt the danger was primarily involving him and his claim to the throne. I presume he thought you would be safe here, at least for the time being. I cannot answer you those questions but you must pack what you need quickly because we are leaving in a few moments."

As she let the words sink in she finally found her voice again, "we? Where are we going Ser Jaime?" Jaime grimaced. "Well not 'we' truly. I am escorting you from the city, as safely as possible, so you can ride to meet up with your brother, but once we are a safe distance away I must return so no one suspects me."

"Suspects you.. of what! Ser Jaime I do not understand why my brother has fled, nor do I understand why the Queen would have me killed. She isn't fond of me.. that is known.. but what trouble is her dead husband's sister to her!?" With this Jaime frowned deeply. He hadn't meant to do all of this here but it seemed as though the Princess wouldn't be budged without some convincing.

"Those things that people whisper at court.. the awful ones about my sister and cousin Lancel?" Katherine nodded. "All true." Her hand flew to her mouth in horror. "The children…" Jaime nodded grimly. "All three bastards.. and unfortunately it seems as if Jon Arryn had found this out. Stannis is said to know, and Ned Stark can't be too far behind him with that information if what Varys said is true."

Suddenly Renly's flight and the Queen's anger all made sense. She knew she had been discovered and she was prepared to kill all those who stood in her bastard son's way to the throne. Stannis was too far away to reach just yet, but Renly and Katherine, heirs to the throne through their brother, were well within reach. Of course Renly fled. The letter from Lysa Arryn all made sense now. It was a warning. Katherine didn't blame him for leaving but she cursed him for leaving Jaime Lannister to tell her this awful thing, in the dead of night!

With great haste Katherine began throwing her things together. She grabbed a travelling cloak and the men's garb she wore for sparring with Renly and tossed them into a bag. Jaime seemed encouraged by her speed now. "Good, thank you. Let's get going now. Our mounts are waiting."

True to his word, at a back gate of the Keep there were two horses waiting with saddle bags. A seedy character wearing a hood stood with them until Jaime approached. Jaime traded 2 gold dragons for the reins and promptly lifted Katherine up to the saddle with no warning. She did not protest as the whole evening had already been so terrible. Sliding with ease onto his steed, Jaime gestured her forward through the city.

Reaching the outskirts of the city within an hour, Jaime halted. He pointed to where the moon was rising from and showed Katherine the road headed that way. "That path leads to The Reach. At the very end of it is Highgarden, though I do not expect you to have to travel that far. The ride to Highgarden is several days from here, riding all day and night; so I would assume once Renly and Loras had cleared the city that they would take a slower pace."

Katherine nodded, understanding he what he meant. She would have to ride quickly to catch up with her brother and Ser Loras, but certainly not all the way to Highgarden. "Well, that is all I can do. You have food and drink in the saddle bags should you be delayed in reaching them for any reason. You must ride as fast as possible to catch up with them before you rest. You cannot stop alone on the road Princess. Do you understand?" Nodding again she stared vacantly at the long road in front of her.

As Jaime turned to leave Katherine called him back. "Wait Kingslayer!" He pulled back towards her mount with a grimace. "Ser Jaime…" she searched, lost for the right words. "Please, why are you doing this for me? Why now?"

Jaime laughed humorlessly. "Because only today did I see my own sister's true madness when she called for your head the moment Robert drew his last breath. Think of this as my small gesture of apology for the pain my family has caused yours." And with that he rode off.


	9. Chapter 9

Riding up to Casterly Rock a fortnight later Jaime Lannister breathed a sigh of relief. He had made it out of Kings Landing and was finally home. The night of Robert's death he had gone to his father's chambers and stayed up speaking with him about the events of the next day until Cersei had stormed in in the morning, announcing the Princess was missing.

Luckily, his plan had worked, and since he was with his father most of the evening Jaime was never suspected. His family seemed positive she had left with Renly, which is exactly what he had hoped for. Settling into his chambers at the Rock he wondered what had happened to the Princess. He wondered if she even made it to Renly.

 _Curse Renly Baratheon and his idiotic plan. How could he leave here there.. Could he truly not have known she would be in danger? If she dies on her way to him this will be all his fault. He chose the Tyrell boy over his own sister.._

Shaking off his treacherous thoughts Jaime sat at his desk and began drafting letters. He copied the same letter a dozen times. One for each of the major houses sworn to House Lannister. His hand cramped as he copied the words over and over. This was the reason for his haste to Casterly Rock. He needed to do what his father no longer could. With his final letter finished he called his page to send the letters.

That evening 20 lower lords opened letters that would change their lives:

 _House Lannister calls upon you as our bannermen._

 _Eddard Stark was executed in the Capitol a fortnight ago for treason, his son has called the banners in the North. Renly Baratheon fled the Capitol before he could be detained, and has called his banners in the Storm Lands. Stannis Baratheon has called his at Dragonstone. They all stand in contempt of the King._

 _The Crown declares war on Stannis Baratheon, Renly Baratheon, and Robb Stark, who are all in open rebellion against the Crown. House Lannister stands behind the Crown as our King, Joffrey Baratheon, the First of His Name, is also of House Lannister and we owe him our allegiance in this time of need._

 _I, Ser Jaime Lannister, acting as the Lord of Casterly Rock in my father's absence do call the bannermen of House Lannister to aid us in our march to defend the realm and our King._

 _All able bodied men will assemble at the Rock on the second evening from receiving this._

 _~J.L._

The war had begun.

Hundreds of leagues away a similar assembly was taking place. Katherine had indeed caught up with her brother and Loras Tyrell by morning. At first Renly had been angry she had joined them, as well as confused as to how she did so. But, when he was told of the Queen's intent to kill her he realized that his sister was no longer safe in Kings Landing.

Loras for his part was relieved Katherine was there, because he had felt unimaginable guilt at leaving her behind. They all had shared a warm reunion before riding hard and fast for The Reach. Renly was initially concerned with Jaime Lannister's motives for helping her escape, but after a fortnight of no Lannister men marching on Highgarden, he let it go.

Once they reached Highgarden they were received by armed guards waiting to escort them in at the closed gates to the city. Once they reached the ornate palace that adorned the gardens of Highgarden they were received by Mace Tyrell. He had a serious face and a nervous look about him as he examined the three riders. When he ushered them into his council chambers he finally spoke.

"Margaery?"

"She is safe. It was better to leave her in King's Landing with Grandmother, she will cause no trouble for them. Hopefully it will be safe for them to return shortly." Loras said calmly.

Mace nodded. "Yes I suppose. We shall see.. We have business to attend to. Send them in!" He called over to his page at the latter part of his sentence. With that, Mace Tyrell's high lords and bannermen came to his table. 10 men in all, gathered around to hear what was to happen.

Mace began, "I received a letter from my mother, Lady Olenna, announcing the King's death a fortnight ago. She made it clear that King Joffrey Baratheon is no Baratheon and no King. It has now come to our attention that the three children of Cersei Lannister are bastard children of her cousin. This information came from the widow of Jon Arryn, former hand of the king. A letter in his wife's own hand was sent to Renly Baratheon naming he and his brother as the rightful heirs to the throne. We all know Stannis Baratheon, and we know he would be no King for our realm. He knows nothing of ruling or the ways of court. He is a recluse with a barren wife and no male heirs… the realm would fall to anarchy within a year. This brings us to Renly Baratheon, the younger brother of Robert, the former King. We have known him since he was a lad, he was raised here, we trust him. He shall be our claimant to the Iron Throne."

The men all shouted their agreement. Suddenly one man shouted out, "what of the girl! She has a claim, yes? Will this cause issue?" Mace turned to Katherine, having forgotten entirely about her blood tie to the throne. He looked expectantly at her, and she stood.

"My Lords, I assure you that my loyalties lie solely with my brother Renly. I have no love lost for Stannis, I have only met him but twice, and I have no ambition to sit on the Iron Throne myself. I will declare before you all that I witnessed my King brother's final words to the pair of us, and they were that it was his deepest desire for Renly to rule over his own rotten son. I stand by that and I stand behind Renly. I will be the first to bend my knee and call him my king."

Kneeling deeply before her brother she grabbed both of his hands and held them, "Renly Baratheon, First of your Name, I do swear my undying allegiance to you and your issue. I will pledge my life to serve you and I renounce all claims made in my name, to the throne."

Smiling deeply Renly pulled his sister up, "that is the last time you will kneel to anyone, sweet sister." Looking up at the men surrounding them he declared loudly, "the Princess Royale is my trusted confidante and loyal servant, she will be rewarded greatly when I sit on my throne. If your armies have a single drop of the loyalty and courage my sweet sister has shown me, we will crush our opposition by noon tomorrow!"

The men cheered with this declaration and after a time Mace waved them down once more. He was pleased with her oath of fealty and he had one last matter to attend to before he granted Renly his army. "One last item to attend to. To tie the loyalties of House Tyrell with House Baratheon and the Crown, for generations to come we must have marriage. It is our intention to wed our dear Margaery to the King when the war is won, but for the time being, we will shortly wed my heir, Loras, to the Princess Royale of the Realm!"

He said this as if were already law, and his men cheered as Renly, Loras, and Katherine all exchanged looks. They knew this was Mace's way of maintaining control when the younger ones had brought a war to his doorstep. They all nodded in agreement and Loras strode over to Katherine and placed a deep kiss on her lips. The men cheered louder.

Highgarden and House Tyrell were certainly growing stronger each day…

Stannis Baratheon was incensed. Word had reached Dragonstone of Robert's passing and the chaos that had followed it. The Hand of the King had been publicly executed for treason, and the boy King had ordered the deaths of several other loyalists. The rumors were running rampant that the boy was a bastard and Renly had fled to Highgarden.

 _No doubt to raise an army…_ Stannis fumed. He couldn't leave well enough alone. He should have known Lysa Arryn would send Renly the same letter he received and that Renly would decide to claim the crown for himself. He was foolish. _And I will destroy him if he stands between me and my right. He and the girl will be dealt with shortly._

With these thoughts in his head Stannis called Ser Davos, his trusted knight. "Call the banners. We will raise an army and take on Renly, the Stark boy, and then we will march for Kings Landing and kill every single Lannister that stands in our way."


	10. Chapter 10

Robb Stark's camp was in furious chaos. The day had been filled with such victorious celebration that there was excitement in the air, but also hung the damp feeling of loss for they had lost a few thousand men in the pursuit of their victory.

The North had been winning small battles with some scattered Lannister troops for the past several months but finally today, they had taken on the Kingslayer's army and won. The most rewarding part for Robb, being when the Kingslayer himself was brought to him in chains. Finally a bargaining piece for the Stark girls.

While the Northern troops celebrated their victory Jaime Lannister sat in a wooden cage with shackles round his neck, hands, and feet, ensuring no possibility of escape. He almost laughed to himself of how the tides had turned while he reflected back on the last several months.

After reaching Casterly Rock and calling the banners he had met his bannermen within days. They had marched through the Westerlands all the way to Riverrun, crushing all armies in their path until they reached what they thought would be an easy victory over the Northern army.

 _I was wrong_ Jaime thought ruefully. _The Stark boy may be smarter than I originally thought. Who knew he would use actual strategy over raw anger.._ Jaime sneered alone in his cage thinking about this. _Of course he had strategy.. he has advisors. I didn't suspect they would be this good though._

Jaime had now been in his cage for just over a week. He was eating one bowl of brown mush a day and sitting in his own filth, surrounded by mud. He knew it was a ticking clock for how much longer his body would hold out. He could almost feel his muscles begin to deteriorate. But the thing that he and Robb Stark both knew was that there was no way he was being traded for the Stark girls.

Robb had realized soon after the battle when it was clear that Lord Karstark had lost 2 of his sons at the Kingslayer's hand, that all in all the only satisfactory bargain that his army would accept for the release of such a valuable prisoner, was the North itself. Sitting in his cage that first night, the Kingslayer came to the same conclusion. His release would be pushed for by his father, but Tywin would stop short of releasing an entire region of their kingdom.

 _So I am in here for the long haul then.._ Jaime thought miserably to himself. _Better settle in._ So he did. The days slid by with him in delirium after the 5th day of starving rations and filthy surroundings. He had tried talking to himself to keep some sense of sanity (as strange as that sounds) but he had been kicked brutally by the guards when they finally were tired of his voice. _How long until my father comes for me. How long until Stannis' army marches on the Starks. How much longer._

* * *

At Renly's camp things were going much better. For the past several months they had gained great ground headed from Highgarden to Storms End, picking up armies across the Storm Lands as they went. Their total count of men was nearing 120,000 strong as they approached Stannis' army.

Renly offered parlay to Stannis and the brothers' spoke for a short time. Renly offering Stannis a seat on his council should Stannis surrender immediately, and Stannis offering Renly his life should he surrender. The whole while Loras stood next to Katherine, clutching her hand tightly. He knew how disturbed she was at the idea of one of her brothers killing the other. They had been up all night talking about it while Renly changed his mind over and over.

They had all been close before they left Kings Landing but Loras and Katherine had become especially close now that they were supposed to be "betrothed to be married" soon and needed to keep up appearances. It had bothered Renly at first but soon enough he realized that there was nothing that would ever come of that.. being that Loras was not interested in women, and his sister would never try to take his lover from him.

As they watched the brothers argue Loras leaned in to whisper encouragement to his betrothed. "Do not fear, Renly will make the right decision. We shall all be fine." Katherine smiled and squeezed his hand. "Thank you.. I needed-" Before she could finish she was interrupted by her eldest brother's first acknowledgement of her.

"Ah I see you've brought with you our whore sister and knight whose lust for her bought your army." Before she realized what was happening Loras surged forward. As she grabbed at him and attempted to pull him back, Renly had time to block his path. "Pay no attention to him Ser Loras, his insults hold no meaning to us. He is a lonely man whose own wife won't have him."

Loras sneered, "you will not speak about the Princess in that way or I will have your head." Renly rolled his eyes. _So dramatic, as always. Plays the part of the jealous lover quite well though thank the Seven._ "Yes, yes, Ser Loras, you may have his head if he speaks of Katherine again."

Stannis laughed, "this is the knight you will sell our sister to? Green. He is greener than the lands his castle sits on!" Renly smirked, "that is strange.. this green knight has won 6 battles and you have won none. Better a green knight who wins than a grey knight who hasn't won in decades." Stannis' smirk came off his face. There was truth to Renly's words and he knew it. The Tyrell knight had won several battles and Stannis had yet to face anyone since Robert's Rebellion.

"There will be no parlay. I will see you for the last time on the battle field tomorrow." As he turned to leave he changed his mind about something and turned around, "and sister? When I kill Renly I will come for you.. and when I find you I will marry you to the oldest, most foul man in my army's ranks. I will raise him to a Prince and have you bear his children until he dies of drinking and whoring. You will be a slave for the rest of your life and that will be your punishment for choosing the wrong brother. Enjoy your last night of freedom." With that he left.

Clutching her chest Katherine fell back into her chair. She felt sick. "Renly…" Her brother kneeled before her and took her hands in his. "Sweet sister, do not listen to his words. He only seeks to hurt you. When you wake up tomorrow we will have left, and by the time you sleep tomorrow we will have returned and our evil brother will be no longer of this world."

Loras added his hand to her back in a comforting pat. "Yes let us all retire so we may be rested. After tomorrow's victory we will be beginning our march on Kings Landing and we will have much to celebrate then."

Katherine forced a smile and stood. "Thank you... I think I shall retire.. Please come back to me, both of you. I shall pray until the moment you return." With that she threw her arms around each of them and held them close. They took her to her tent, with guards posted at the entrances, and then soon after retired to Renly's tent to spend one last night together before the battle.

…

Noise. After being in her tent all days sending prayers up to the Seven she finally heard noise. The camp was sparsely populated while the army was at war. There were a few men left to guard the Princess and the camp itself, but not many. There was no reason for there to be, so they had not wasted extra men to guard a nearly empty camp. The empty camp had meant silence all day long, so finally hearing shouts she knew they had returned.

Katherine stood up gleefully to peer out of her tent, hoping to see her brother and Loras riding in victoriously. Instead, by the time she reached for her tent flap, someone else had yanked it open and it was not one of her guards. Horrified and turning to run she was grabbed immediately by the men who had entered her tent.

Her attempts to escape their grasp were futile and soon they had tied her up and thrown her on the back of one of their horses. All she could do was wait and finally hours later she was pulled from the horse and dragged through the mud and thrown at someone's feet.

"Her brother wasn't at the camp but look who we found…" The leader of the men who took her spoke to the owner of the pair of boots she was currently sstaring at. A gasp escaped the boot's owner's lips as he kneeled down and raised her head up to meet his eyes.

Now Katherine was the one to gasp as she met the steely blue eyes of Robb Stark, King in the North.


	11. Chapter 11

The attitudes in the Stark camp were triumphant. The past few weeks had seen victories like no other. Wins in combat over the Lannister army, the capture of the Kingslayer, and now the Baratheon Princess had fallen right into their laps the very day that her elder brother slaughtered the younger. This had lifted the spirits of the men though Robb wasn't certain this was all good. The fact that somehow Stannis' army was able to defeat Renly's and the remainder of the troops from Highgarden had fled back South was not a good sign. They could easily take up for the Lannisters now, which was far worse than taking up for either of the Baratheon siblings. Robb shook his head, there was no doubt in his mind that the Tyrells were currently swearing fealty to the crown. It was playing out quite similarly to how it did during Robert's Rebellion when they supported the Targaryen's until the last possible moment.

As the men around his table clamored over each other with plots and plans for the future, the King in the North's head was elsewhere. Back in his tent the Princess Royale of the Seven Kingdoms was being guarded day and night. He hadn't yet thought of what to do with her. So far, all Robb knew was that he was very pleased to see her and he would not harm her… which also meant he could not turn her over to her brother Stannis.

Katherine had repeated Stannis' threats about her to Robb when he questioned her about the meeting between her brothers the very day she was brought to his camp. Robb had nodded slowly as he listened, thinking to himself what a truly sick man Stannis Baratheon was to make such vile comments to his lovely sister. _I would never say such things to Sansa or Arya, no matter what our disagreement_ he thought to himself.

When all of this was said and done Robb was forced to be the bearer of bad news and tell Katherine how it was that Stark men gained access to Renly's camp- he informed her that Renly had been murdered by Stannis in front of his mother's eyes. Catelyn Stark had returned shortly after Katherine was dragged into camp, and had told Robb and his bannermen the tale of the ghost with Stannis' face. While the higher lords of the North heard the tale, it was a general consensus that the story would be that Stannis himself did the slaying, as a ghost was hardly believable. Katherine had been inconsolable for days, never eating or bathing. Robb found that even in the harsh conditions of war, seeing a beautiful woman in so much pain made his heart ache.

He had found that in the past two weeks he grew to care for the Princess even more. This was quite a bit complicated by the small matter of the girl from Volantis that he had been taking up with before Katherine's appearance at camp. The girl, a young woman named Talissa, was beautiful and exotic. She had no name that meant anything in the Seven Kingdoms but an air of grace and beauty about her that Robb couldn't put out of his mind. He had struggled with this for two weeks until he made his decision. He could have them both.

He found himself rationalizing this by remembering even his own father strayed in wartime. He would marry the Princess and send her home to the North, and he would keep Talissa with him until the war was over. In the back of his head he knew he would most likely bring her back North with him because he cared about her too much to send her away, but he put that out of his head for now. He had come up with the perfect scenario, a well-placed match with a high born woman, as well as buying himself more time with his lover. As long as Katherine could be convinced to marry him shortly, and then sent back to the North, this would all work fine.

…

"No." His mother's face was unforgiving. She had a thin line for lips but her eyes were screaming at him. Inside her chest burned with outrage but she maintained as much composure as she could bear. At a meeting of his small council Robb had announced his intent to marry the Princess within a fortnight. A few of his councilors were not opposed to the idea but his mother would not be silenced.

"You sent me to make treaty with Walder Frey regarding a safe crossing of The Twins, and in that agreement you yielded the right to choose your bride. If you do not marry one of his daughters we will not be able to cross the Green Fork." Robb sighed, "Mother other negotiations can be had with Walder Frey, there is more to be gained by marrying the Princess.. Think of the alliance with Stannis. This would almost ensure that when he is King of the Seven Kingdoms he will allow the North to remain free, as his sister would be Queen."

At this notion several of the counselors nodded in agreement, the logic seemed sound for the long run, and Walder Frey's army was not so great they feared it. In fact, they could smash through his army and take the bridge by force if they wanted. Roose Bolton spoke up, "My lady, if I may.. I think your son is correct. This alliance with Stannis could be powerful, and the Princess is a figurehead that will be important for establishing the North as a sovereign region." Catelyn sighed. There was no reasoning with them. She had lost.

…

In Robb Stark's tent the Princess paced. He had been kind to her but there were of course rules. She was under strict guard at all times, though she was permitted to sleep in the King in the North's large and comfortable cot. Robb himself slept on a smaller cot that had been drug in when the Princess was captured. Even in war, there was no impropriety from the Northernman. He had offered her his bed because he said the harshness of war was no place for a woman, let alone a princess, but if he could offer her a small comfort of a real bed, he would.

This also had angered Catelyn. She felt her son had grown too familiar with the Baratheon Princess, and she trusted the girl less than she had trusted Robert Baratheon himself. Of course, now that her son had made up his mind in marrying the girl she would have to control her displeasure. Robb may be her son, _but now he is also your Lord_ she thought ruefully.

Just days before word of her husband's execution had reached their camp. Robb had been inconsolable but the Princess' quiet words of comfort and soft hand on his had calmed him eventually. This made Catelyn's stomach turn. _As if the Kingslayer in camp wasn't bad enough, we have a useless captive who has now captured my son's heart apparently._ Shaking this all off she walked out of the tent with the small council in it.

As Lady Catelyn reached nearer to her son's tent, where she would wait for him, she saw a few men who were heading over to change guard at the Kingslayer's cage. She called them over. "You! Men! See to it that no one feeds the Kingslayer again tonight. He took my husband's life and I'm not quite sure we won't be taking his life in exchange." Catelyn enjoyed one moment of brief satisfaction before it was taken from her.

Robb appeared behind her just in time to hear the end of her words, and to see Katherine's horrified face staring out of his tent. She had heard everything. Her delicate hand covered her open mouth as she met Robb's eyes and quickly turned back into the tent. He roughly pushed past his mother and pulled open the flaps to his tent. There she was standing there in the middle of his tent, with the fury of her family written all over her lovely face.

She held nothing back as she began to rage at him. For a moment Catelyn swore she was hearing Robert Baratheon bellowing inside her son's tent. She felt ashamed for a moment, knowing her son had not wished the Princess to find out that the Kingslayer was being held prisoner; but at the same time she secretly hoped this would end her son's notions of marrying the girl.

Katherine finished her outburst with a demand. "Take me to him now." Robb sighed. This is what he had not wanted… her to see the Kingslayer in this condition and sympathize. But there was little choice, if he didn't take her to see him Katherine would surely resent him and not agree to their marriage. Gathering his wits about him he obliged her and with several guards, led the Princess to the Kingslayer's cage.

…

When she first saw him she could hardly believe her eyes. Jaime Lannister was filthy, starving, and chained by the neck, ankles, and wrists to a pole in the center of a cage for a direwolf. An uninvited sob left her mouth before she could stifle it. The horror of seeing a Knight in such condition was one had never encountered. Knowing what this man looked like in his glory made it all the harder to look upon him now. Hearing the noise Jaime had looked up. When he met the Princess' eyes he straightened up as best he could and averted his eyes immediately. He was embarrassed.

Katherine rushed over to the bars of the cage and was not stopped by the guards, as Robb had instructed them to stand to the side. She knelt in the mud of the soft grounds of the Riverlands and pressed her face and hands to the bars separating her and the heir to Casterly Rock. Quietly, almost as a whisper, the words finally came to her, "Jaime…" His eyes ruefully drifted upwards again. Though he wished he could look anywhere else he could not ignore her sweet voice. It sounded like a dream, and seeing as he hadn't eaten since Ned Stark was executed several days prior, a dream seemed more likely than this occurring in real life.

When dared to look at her, he found that she taking his appearance in, in a decisive manner. He saw her focus on his hollowed cheeks, his bruised neck- bloodied from the heavy collar, his gaunt chest, and the deep wound on his side. When her eyes finally met his again they were full of tears. She was clearly horrified.

"I will not allow this…" she began softly. "I will speak to Robb, this is not acceptable. Your wounds need dressing." Jaime tried to protest, "Princess please do not cause trouble for yourself, I am glad to see you unharmed. Please do not anger the Stark boy by appearing aligned with me." Katherine felt her hands shaking, but she tried to sound confident. "You don't understand, he means to marry me and make me his Queen. He says he loves me, and if that is true then he will not deny me this." Jaime felt what little color his cheeks had left, drain instantly.

 _Marry him?_ He couldn't believe it. The Stark boy had been quite smitten with the Princess more than a year ago, when they were in Winterfell. That much was true. But to hear he still intended to marry her was almost more than Jaime could bear. He blinked hard. Before he could respond again he found Katherine had risen. She was shouting at the Stark boy with a fury her brothers would have been proud of. He could make out words like "food" "medicine" "wounds" and "bathe" and found he liked the idea of any of them happening, no matter which.

In the end, it seemed the Wolf had given in to the Stag because soon enough a serving girl brought a tray with soup, soap, and water to wash with. Before he knew it, they were unlocking his cage and allowing Katherine inside. Robb Stark gave his prisoner a furtive look and turned to leave. Almost as an afterthought he added, "Katherine, since you've been in the mud, have one of the girls show you to my other tent and bathe you. I will see you tomorrow."

Jaime's eyes darkened at this, _were they sharing a tent.. were they sleeping together?_ He couldn't bear the thought of it. Before he could sink too deeply into these wicked ponderings the Princess was before him. On her knees, covered in mud and filth, she raised a wet rag and wiped his face gently. She scrubbed at him silently until his face, then hands were clean. After that she moved to the rest of his exposed and soiled skin. Next she cleaned and bandaged his wounds swiftly and carefully. As she did that Jaime felt warmth inside him. He had not felt a woman's touch in a very long time, but this was something different. This was an act of pure kindness and gentleness. He was moved.

He could almost feel his eyes misting when he remembered who was before him. When she had finished she silently picked up the bowl and began feeding it to him. Knowing his hands would have been clumsy and spilled half his meager ration, she opted to help him instead. This too stirred some strength in the man who was formerly one of the most fearsome warriors in Westeros. When she had finished she took care to brush his hair out of his eyes before standing.

Jaime frantically realized she was about to leave, he had said nothing. "Wait!" he called as she reached the door. Katherine turned back to face him, "yes?" she asked. Jaime eyed her uncertainly, as if he hadn't the words to say what he meant to, "I can not truly thank you for what you just did for me.." he trailed off, not sure how to finish. Katherine gave him a sweet but sad smile. "I understand" was all she offered him.

…

With a bit more haste than she was used to moving with, Katherine Baratheon headed for Robb Stark's tent. Though he had instructed her to take a bath and rest in a different tent tonight she couldn't let him go to bed after all the harsh words she had spoken to him. He had allowed her to tent to Ser Jaime so she must make things right with the man who was to be her dear husband soon.

As she reached the tent she later wondered whether or not she should have heard them, but she couldn't remember. All she knew was that she was so deep in thought, rehearsing her apology, that she entered the King in the North's tent before his guard could stop her path. What met her eyes was a most unwelcome and unexpected sight.

Robb was in bed on top of a strange woman with bronze skin and dark hair. An exotic looking girl. Young. This time Katherine had no rage. Her eyes widened as she took in the scene but she did not cry out or rage as she had done before when she discovered Robb's earlier lie about Jaime. She grabbed onto his desk to steady herself and gasped softly, shaking her head. _So it was all too good to be true then…_ She marveled at her naivety. Of course the King had wanted her to go to her own tent tonight. He had a lover.

Robb had caught sight of Katherine immediately and jumped up from his bed, his manhood still erect and glistening from the act he was caught in the middle of. He pulled a robe on quickly and rushed over to Katherine. "Katherine.. listen please don't misunderstand what this is.. she is just my lover, nothing more. I will marry you and that will be the end of it. You needn't worry." Katherine's eyes went cold and dark. "No I needn't worry, because I will NOT marry you. You have lied to me more than once and I am no fool. You on the other hand must be to address me so familiarly. I am the Princess of this realm and a prisoner in this camp, so why don't you put me with the other prisoners and keep your whore in your bed." She spoke the words so carefully and precisely that he knew she meant them. Running his hands through his hair Robb Stark was at a loss for words.

The King in the North was a mild tempered man but this woman had gotten the best of him too many times today, now she would make him look the fool in front of his bannermen.. He couldn't have that. He grabbed her harshly by the arm, "you will do as you are bid. I will put my heir in you and you will bear me sons… and I will do this whenever I please, in fact I may do it now!" As he said this he ripped open the front of her gown exposing her small clothes underneath. Katherine briefly caught a glimpse of the horrified girl still sitting naked on Robb's cot and realized what was about to happen.

Pushing him off her with as much strength as she had Katherine screamed. In a moment Robb had his hand over her mouth, and she could now smell the wine on his breath because of his closeness. She closed her eyes. Any rational man could be swayed when wine was introduced, there was little chance of reasoning with him now. Just as she began steeling herself for what may happen the tent flaps were yanked open and Catelyn Stark entered in a fury.

She took in the scene in front of her and first pointed to the entrance, sending the exotic Voltantian girl fleeing in a robe. Next she crossed the room and forcibly slapped her son full on the face. Katherine was shocked at this. Striking your liege lord, let alone your king, even as their mother, was punishable by death. Though, luckily for them all, Catelyn's slap seemed to shock Robb Stark enough to release his grip on Katherine. He tried explaining "his side" of the situation but to no avail, Catelyn Tully had been no fool of a girl and Catelyn Stark was no fool of a woman. She called for the guards and instructed them to put Katherine in the cage with the Kingslayer. She told Katherine she would be by with a change of clothing when she finished with Robb. Katherine nodded silently, covering herself as best she could, and was led away by the guards.

…

The guards roughly shoved Katherine into the cage and Jaime Lannister jolted awake, clearly in shock to see Katherine again He only needed a moment to take in her appearance and her grave expression before he realized something was terribly wrong. Jaime scooted as close to her as he could, pulling her small hand into his, and pulling her closer with it. She hadn't be chained so she was able to move towards him.

Softly grabbing her chin and forcing it up, Jaime made Katherine meet his eyes once again. "Did he hurt you?" was all he said. Katherine nodded, silently allowing the tears to fall from her large eyes. Jaime's blood boiled. Even after she relived the entire scene for him he wasn't satisfied that nothing else had taken place. He questioned her over and over as to whether or not the "King" had raped her. Each time, Katherine firmly said no, until finally she sobbed harder and fell into his lap, "no! Please stop, please don't make me relieve it again!"

Jaime's face fell. In his mania to find the truth of what had happened he never considered the damage he was doing to her by asking these questions. He gently touched her hair and spoke again, this time gentler, softer. "Princess I am so sorry. I did not mean to make things worse for you. I am glad you were not harmed further." She allowed herself this moment of pity, and allowed him to run his fingers over her hair for awhile longer. Finally he spoke again, "he will pay for what he did to you Katie, I promise you that. No matter what else happens, I will not rest until Robb Stark suffers exquisite pain for this."

Katherine wrinkled her nose for a moment at the use of Renly and Robert's pet name for her. But she decided that it sounded nice and she still just needed to pity herself awhile longer, so she allowed it. Jaime let a small smile pass over his lips when he realized she did not protest. At that, he leaned down and gave her a small kiss on the top of her head. "I would give my life for you if it meant you could go home."

Before Katherine could say anything (or not say anything as she had been wont to do…) another voice spoke in the darkness. A woman's voice. "..and you may get the opportunity to do just that before the night is over Kingslayer!" Katherine looked up into the small light being reflected by the woman's torch. Catelyn Stark stood over the entrance to the cage, peering down at them.

She began to fumble with the keys as Katherine watched with great interest. _What is happening? Has she decided to let Robb have me? Gods no…._ Jaime seemed to feel similarly, "If you think.." he began, but Catelyn shushed him but a moment after the words left his lips. "Please!" she begged, "someone will hear!"

Moments later the unbelievable was happening. Catelyn had provided a small bag with water and cheese, along with two travelling cloaks and a horse. She instructed them to ride for the nearest Lannister holding they could find, and to seek some mercy for her daughters. Before they left Katherine was not satisfied, "but why?" she begged. She needed an answer. Catelyn's eyes met hers and there was pain behind them. "I saw an evil man in my son today, and I can not allow that to take root. I would sooner die than see my son lead the way he thought to lead tonight. Take care on your way, and please beg mercy for my girls. On with you!" With a swift slap to the horse, they were off, leaving an emotionless Catelyn Stark in the distance before long.

As they rode into the horizon Katherine began feeling Jaime's grip on her weaken. She had almost forgotten how he had been starved until just this morning. She fashioned a belt of sorts out of her cloak and tied him to her so as they rode he would not fall off their mount.

For three days straight they rode West. Finally, on the morn of the third day Katherine saw huge rocks. Her lips drew into a thin smile, _Casterly Rock_ she thought to herself. She had made it. Surely she felt as if she too would at any moment, fall unconscious as Ser Jaime had been for the duration of their ride, but they were now close enough she could taste safety. Not daring to slow their pace Katherine quickened towards The Rock.

As she reached the gates her vision blurred. She could barely see where she was going let alone hold herself up. The last thing she saw before she fell from the horse was the red and gold banners of House Lannister, and she heard a voice cry out "it is Lord Jaime! He is alive!" And with those words Katherine Baratheon's eyes closed and she succumbed to the exhaustion.


End file.
